The Motoring World Blog thanks you all ONE MILLION TIMES as we hit the milestone of page views.

Well we have done it, between us all The Motoring World Blog has hit the 1,000,000 page views yesterday, I never in my wildest dreams thought that this figure would be achieved, let alone in only Thirty nine months since I started the blog properly.

In that time I have gone from just posting a post here and there to going international, with reports from all over the world, Social Media has been a big part of this, with a Facebook account and a Twitter one too, and with Twitter, we have achieved some really big names that have followed the account.

Tom Coronel, WTCC driver, loads of car brands, and not just dealerships, but head office ones too, we have been invited to take part in numerous events, some of which include :

• A full private tour of Jaguar at Castle Bromwich where we were allowed to take pictures, unheard of these days.
• Ssangyong has invited us to a number of events, including an upcoming one (more of that later next month).
• We have been given cars to road test, from the MG6 and MG3, to Audi's, Citroen's, Vauxhall's, MINI, Range Rover, Mercedes, and more.
• An invite from SMMT to an event happening soon (again more on that shortly).
• Various other factory and insider visits.
• And so much more.

And at the heart of all this has been you guys, the best month had a figure of 54,000 hits, this month has hit a year low, mainly in part to being unwell, and not being around to do as much as I would have liked to do, all of this, is a one man band, just me.

We have had people from all over the globe read the blog, the USA and UK are the top two, followed by (and in no particular order)

• Germany
• France
• Russia
• Ukraine
• India
• Japan
• Canada
• Turkey
• Poland
• Ireland
• Spain
• Italy
• Portugal
• Saudi Arabia
• Thailand
• United Arab Emirates
• Belgium
• Bahrain

So, you can see we are international, and who knows, maybe even inter galactic, Tim Peake are you reading ? LOL.

As with most people we all have our favourite brands, cars from the British marques, Rover, MG, Austin etc, that made up BLMC through to MG-Rover before it went into receivership 11 years ago, and now Jaguar Land Rover, these are my brands of choice, and I dont apologise for that at all.

The post that has gained the biggest amount of interest ? well, thats the Jaguar XE you can read it here>>JAG<<, at the time of writing this the post has had a hit rate of 8169 views, which is way way ahead of second place.

So, I would just like to say thank you, no, a BIG THANK YOU, to each and everyone of you that has taken time out from your lives to spend a little piece if it with me and my little blog, I hope you have enjoyed it, I hope you continue to enjoy it, and if you have any questions, tips or, even if you feel like you would love to do a road test report on your car, let me know.

And lastly, Thank you to the brands, that have allowed me access to the cars, the events, the people, without which the site would not be as good as it is, modesty is not my strong point.. LOL..

THANK YOU ONE MILLION TIMES

BMIHT Re-Brands to become the British Motor Museum it opens in February with a new building, and 100's of new cars.

The Heritage Motor Centre, home to the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, announced a number of exciting new changes on Friday 13th November. The world’s largest collection of historic British cars is re-branding the name of its venue at Gaydon to the British Motor Museum,and undertaking a major refurbishment of its Museum this winter as well as unveiling a new £4m Collections Centre.

The change of name to the British Motor Museum will more accurately reflect this Accredited Museum’s recently achieved Arts Council England ‘Designated’ status which confirms the national and international significance of its collections.

An investment of £1.1m by the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust will transform the Museum at Gaydon, which will close to the public from 30 November to allow the refurbishment to take place.  

The changes will result in a much more visually exciting and immersive display, designed to appeal to both current fans as well as new audiences yet to experience all that it has to offer.

An introductory gallery within the new visitor entrance will set the scene and flow into distinctive new themed zones, including ones for movie cars, prototypes and sports cars. 

The popular ethos of allowing visitors to get up close to the exhibits will not change, but there will be different ways to view the cars, with many on raised plinths and some at eye level.  

Families and enthusiasts alike will be able to stroll along the Time Road, look under more open bonnets, and enjoy new interactive content including sound, film and touch screens. Whether the visitor is 3 or 103 years of age, there will be something about each car and its history to fascinate.

The final element of the multi-million revamp is the new Collections Centre. Supported by Heritage Lottery Fund, Jaguar Land Rover and the Garfield Weston Foundation, as well as the two charitable Trusts involved, the £4m project will store around 250 vehicles from the reserve collections of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and the Jaguar Heritage Trust. 

Many of these vehicles are one of a kind and most have never been seen by the public. A new team of volunteers will take visitors on a ‘behind-the-scenes’ tour to view both the cars and the conservation work in progress in the historic vehicle workshops. Entry to the Collections Centre will be included within the Museum ticket price and tours can be booked on arrival. 

Julie Tew, Managing Director at the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust said: "We are delighted to announce these exciting new changes which will significantly enhance our status and appeal.  

The Museum refurbishment and the new Collections Centre will enrich our visitors’ experience and showcase our collections to their full potential.  Not only will our prized collection of 300 historic British cars be far more accessible, but our Museum will give people the chance to learn more about the past, present and future of the British motor industry, its technology and its people.” 

The transition to the new name begins once the Museum closes for its redevelopment from the 30 November and the venue will be officially known as the British Motor Museum when the Museum and Collections Centre re-open to the public on Saturday 13 February 2016.  

Fancy a 'Brand New' Austin Metro VdP 500, with only 741 miles and in factory condition, well you can !.

Classic Car Auctions (CCA) will be offering a unique opportunity to own a ‘brand new’ 1983 Austin Metro Vanden Plas 500 in its sale at CarFest South on 29^th August.

The car, offered without reserve, has covered just 741 miles and had just one registered owner since new, forming part of the famous and historic Patrick Collection housed in Birmingham. Very few Vanden Plas Metros remain on the road, and this rare car, the second of only 500 built, is believed to be one of only five left in the UK.

Presented in Black with contrasting tan leather seats, the car is in excellent and fantastically original condition having spent many years in storage. ‘A500 VOJ’ remains essentially as it was when it left the Longbridge factory in 1983. The only parts replaced on the car in its lifetime have been the seals and water pump.

Commenting on the car, Guy Lees-Milne, general manager, CCA, said: “It’s a delight to be offering such a special British icon in our sale at CarFest. This is a unique opportunity to own an incredibly rare car, at no reserve, and this example is one to potentially bubble-wrap for the future.”

One of Britain’s most popular ever cars, the Metro was a common sight on British roads with more than 1.3million sold by 1994. Famous owners include Princess Diana, who owned a red W-registered Metro before her engagement to Prince Charles.

Speaking to CCA about his car, the current owner said, “I doubt you will find another Metro like this in the world. I don’t even think that anyone has ever sat in the passenger seats! I really hope the new owner continues to cherish this amazing car for the future.”

The car joins nearly 100 others in CCA’s CarFest Sale, which takes place at 1979 F1 World Champion Jody Scheckter’s Laverstock Park Farm in Hampshire. A host of charity lots will also be on offer with 100 per cent of the hammer price plus fees being donated to BBC Children in Need.

Bentley Blowers to take part in 2014 Mille Miglia.

Bentley Motors is competing in Mille Miglia 2014 (15‑18 May) with two of the company’s famous 4 ½ Litre supercharged ‘Blowers’ taking on the 1,700 km route.

The 1930 Le Mans ‘Team Car’ once owned by Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin, one of the most celebrated members of a group of British gentlemen racers known as the Bentley Boys, will be joined by a former company demonstrator Blower with its original Vanden Plas Open, Sports Four Seater body for this renowned race.

Even after nine decades on the road, this second Blower continues to delight customers and guests from around the world with demonstration drives during visits to Bentley’s Crewe Headquarters.

Both Bentleys have successfully completed the modern Mille Miglia challenge several times and, with their classic dark green livery and distinctive, rumbling exhaust note, they’re welcomed by the thousands of fans who line the route to support the drivers.

To celebrate the start of Mille Miglia 2014, the Bentley team will meet with customers and friends from the Bentley Drivers Club (www.bdcl.co.uk) in the city of Brescia on the afternoon before the race.

The pre-race gathering will see Bentley owners who have travelled from as far afield as Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, the United States as well as the United Kingdom meet the Blowers and bring their own cars to create a unique line-up of machines bearing the famous Winged B emblem in Italy.

“We plan to see Bentley’s Blowers and their drivers off in style. There will be Bentleys from all eras, some of them extremely rare, in Brescia to mark the start of Mille Miglia and it should be a real celebration of great cars”, comments Steve Miller, Club Secretary of the Bentley Drivers Club.

Live updates from Mille Miglia 2014 will be provided over the course of the event via the Bentley Communications Twitter feed, @BentleyComms